Quote:
Originally Posted by power works
At the very least the Raptors of 08-09 will be a better defensive team than last year.
With JO & Bosh there won't be many nights when they'll get outrebounded, which was a HUGE problem last season.
With JO patrolling the middle there wouldn't be too many clean paths to the hoop either, and hopefully that will prevent the LeBrons & Wades from burning them for 30-40.
Yup one guy can make that difference. 
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This is what I absolutely do not understand (somewhat unrelated to what you just posted). Last year at this time, the main issue that was being talked about was the additions to the Celtics and where we stand in the division/conference. We had the same issues of being weak at the wings and not really having a creator (i guess you could say with the excetion of an often times sporadic TJ Ford). But now, it's like since we got JO, people have put those problems under a microscope as if they've increased somehow and made us worse.
If you ask me which problem is greater between defense/rebounding and having dynamic guards who penetrate and create shots for themselves, i'd say it's the former. Look at a team like the 04 Pistons. Rip Hamilton is a great scorer, but he's primarily a catch and shoot guy that runs around screens. He does that better than most in the league, but he's not a superstar, and neither is Chauncey. The cornerstone of that team is defense and rebouding.
Now, of course one player isn't going to single handedly make us the Pistons or the Spurs in that regard, but he will go a long way towards that cause, without a doubt. A healthy Jermaine makes us a better team, there's no doubt in my mind. Even if the improvement is marginal.